The peninsular rivers of India
Ganga, Yamuna, and Brahmaputra are not the only major rivers in India. Let’s learn more about the peninsular rivers of India!
Peninsular rivers of India
The main water divide in peninsular India is formed by the Western Ghats.
The major rivers in the peninsular region include the Godavari, Krishna, Mahanadi, and Kaveri.
At their mouths, these rivers form deltas.
Godavari, Mahanadi, Kaveri and Krishna all flow east into the Bay of Bengal.
The Narmada and Tapi are the only rivers that flow east and make estuaries.
The drainage basins of peninsular rivers are smaller in size. Let us study about the major drainage basins of peninsular India.
The Narmada basin
The Narmada rises in Madhya Pradesh, in the Amarkantak hills.
The river is known to form many beautiful locations as it flows, such as the Marble rocks.
Another magnificent location is the Dhuadhar falls, formed when the river flows over steep rocks.
The basin of the Narmada covers some parts of Gujarat also.
The tributaries of the Narmada river are very short.
The Tapi basin
Rising in the Satpura ranges, the Tapi river flows in a rift valley parallel to the Narmada.
Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Gujarat are the states where the Tapi basin lies.
The Tapi is much shorter than the Narmada in length.
The place where the Tapi rises, in the Satpura hills, is known as the Betul district.
The Godavari Basin
The Godavari rises in Nasik, Maharashtra, and is about 1500 km in length.
The basin covers Maharashtra, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, and Andhra Pradesh.
Some of the tributaries of Godavari include Penganga, Pranhita, Manjra, and Purna.
The Godavari is also called the Dakshin Ganga, because of its length and the area of its drainage basin.
The Mahanadi, Krishna and Kaveri basins
The Mahanadi rises in Chhattisgarh, and flows through Odisha to reach the Bay of Bengal.
The drainage basin of the Mahanadi lies in Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra and Odisha.
Coming to the Krishna next, it rises from a spring near Mahabaleshwar, and is about 1400km long.
The Tungabhadra and the Koyana are some major tributaries of the Krishna.
The drainage basin of the Krishna lies in Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, and Karnataka.
Finally, we come to the Kaveri, which rises in the Brahmagiri ranges and flows into the Bay of Bengal.
The length of the Kaveri is about 760 km.
The Kaveri basin covers parts of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, and Kerala.
RECAP
The peninsular rivers of India are formed by the Western Ghats.
Major rivers include Godavari, Narmada, Krishna, Tapi, Mahanadi, and Kaveri.
The Godavari is the largest river and has the largest drainage basin among the peninsular rivers. Nashik is situated on the banks of Godavari.
THE END